


Somewhere On The Moon

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, Gen, first resurection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 14:16:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13928799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: A first meeting between the Exo Warlock Murph-9 and his Ghost.





	Somewhere On The Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Companion fic to Somewhere in Russia and Somewhere Near The Ishtar Sink.
> 
> So, my Hunter, Nelan, has two friends that she's in a fireteam with; Lucy and Murph-9. This is the second of the two and the day of their respective resurrection/meeting their Ghosts. Wanted to write this in conjunction with Nelan's resurrection. Also this (and Lucy's story) take place shortly before the Taken war.

He woke suddenly and with a start, a cold black sky above him shining with stars. The void of space, he realized. It was a sky he’d seen before; something he’d stared up at and tried to pick out which constellations were where in the night.

As he stared into the dark, the first words that came to his mind were singular questions of “what” and “where”. What was going on and where was he?

“You can hear me, right?” A voice suddenly said. “Tell me you can hear me.”

Startled by the sudden voice, he sat up, the joints in his metal body creaking for long disuse. His body and its systems was still trying to wake up it seemed, like he’d been asleep for far too long.

He expected to see something in front of him, whatever had spoken to him. There was nothing there; nothing but the grey, stark, and rocky ground, the starry sky meeting it on a hazy horizon. There was no indication of what had spoken to him. Had he imagined it?

“Over here; to your right.”

He turned to his right, like the voice said, and he saw a floating object with one glowing eye in its center. It almost looked like a diamond in shape.

He stared at the object, his questions shifting from where he was to what was this thing he was looking at.

“What… What are you?” He asked the object. His voice stuttered as he spoke, as if the voicebox itself was worn from disuse.

“I am a Ghost. Your Ghost now, to be more accurate.” It replied, its body moving in slight motions and eye “blinking” in tune with what it spoke.

“Are you an AI, like me?” He asked. The object certainly seemed like an AI.

“As far as the technical term goes, yes, though my creation came after yours. You know, I’ve been looking a long time for you. I almost can’t believe you were here the whole time and it’s only now I found you. I’m… really happy I’ve found you.”

He leaned toward the object, the Ghost. “You’ve been looking for me?”

“For much longer than you might think. I was seeking for the one to be my Guardian; so yes, for you.”

“Wait, what did you call me just now?”

“A Guardian.”

“I’m… a “Guardian”…?”

“Yes; a warrior of the Light. I understand there’s some explaining to do, but first we’ll need to find a way out of here.” The Ghost floated closer to him. “You feel alright? Can you stand? I know the first resurrection can be rough on a new Guardian. Everything appears to be working properly though, at least according to my scans.”

“I think I’m okay, I-” He cut himself off, catching a certain word the Ghost had said. “Did you say “resurrection”? Was I dead?”

“You were, Guardian.”

“Oh...” That’s not what he was expecting. He tried to search his memory for why or how he ended up this way, something that would explain how he got to wherever he was, but nothing was turning up; just a blank. A reset would have wiped his memory like that, the entire person he had been before, but the floating object- the Ghost- said he had been dead; completely dead.

Something that did some to mind though was not a memory, but a name; a name that was his.

“Guardian?”

The call of the Ghost brought him back down. “M...Murph. My name is Murph-9.”

“Oh. You remember your name.” The Ghost replied. “Impressive. Though given that you’re an Exo, I’m not surprised. The information was probably still stored deep in your processors.”

“Did someone reset me again?” Murph asked, just to make sure.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know anything beyond that I found you here. But I don’t think you were reset; not if you actually remember what that means for you. Whatever happened must have killed you outright in the past. There was a nasty hole in the side of your head I was able to fix up when I revived you, but all your internal systems were completely offline; everything.”

Murph thought this over, seeing the logic in it. So he was dead. If it had been a reset, he wouldn’t have remembered otherwise. The fact that Ghost said there was a hole in his head- maybe someone had killed him before, not reset him. “Makes enough sense.”

“That was a more quicker adjustment than I was expecting.” The Ghost said, no doubt in reference to it telling him that he had been dead before it found him. “You’re a calm one.”

Murph shrugged. “I still have prior knowledge of what a ‘reset’ means for me; that’s how the previous iterations of me vanished. Technically they died. I’m not completely surprised that you brought me back from a complete death.”

“Oh, you’re going to be fun, I can tell.” The Ghost circled around his head and then changed the subject. “Murph, huh? Like… Murphy’s Law?”

“What’s Murphy’s Law?”

“It’s a kind of saying; it simply states that “anything that can happen will happen”.”

Murph tilted his head. “My name comes from a phrase? Who would give me a name like that?”

The Ghost made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh. “I’m not sure, but I like it. It kind of reminds me of what I see in you; a Warlock.”

“Warlock? Does that have something to do with being a Guardian?”

“It’s one of the three classes. The phrase of Murphy’s Law sounds like something a Warlock might reference. These are all things I can explain later, but for now we’ll have to focus on getting away from this place and to the City. There are things here that… I’d rather not run into.”

Murph was intrigued as to what the last part of that was supposed to mean, but for now he was going to take the Ghost’s word for it. Whatever this “City” was, it sounded like they had to go there for some reason.

He stood, and at the same time he asked the Ghost, “Where is “here”?”

“The Moon of Earth, often referred to as Luna.” It answered.

“We’re on the Moon?”

“That’s not even our biggest possible problem.”

Murph noticed how the Ghost glanced around as it said that, as if it was afraid something was going to jump out of thin air at any moment. There was something here it was afraid of.

“What do you suggest then?” He asked.

“There’s an old space port not too far from here. There’s probably a ship we can scavenge or perhaps radio back to the City. This place isn’t as dangerous as it used to be, although that does not rule out the possibility our enemies lurk on this moon still. I know they’re still here.”

“Fine. I’m trusting in your lead… Ghost.” He paused, thinking over how the name sounded. “Do you have a name besides ‘Ghost’?”

“None, Guardian. I am simply a Ghost; one of many.”

Murph decided to roll with it for the time being. If there was something on this moon that made the Ghost anxious, then it was best they get moving before they found out if there was truly something to fear here. He at least had something to call this object. “Point me in the direction of this space port.”

“Already inputted the coordinates on my navigation. We head East from here; follow me.”

If Murph could smile, he would. “You’re quite clever, Ghost.”

“I’m capable of much more than simple navigation.” It replied, a hint of confidence in its voice.

Following Ghost’s directions, Murph set out eastward toward where this space port was supposed to be. Murph was quiet through much of the walk, thinking about some of the things Ghost had said to him and processing that information. The fact he had been dead wasn’t what he was processing, but the fact he was a Guardian now, whatever that meant. The Ghost had called him a Warlock as well, so he’d find out what that meant too in time he supposed.

The Ghost didn’t really say anything ether, mostly looking around as they walked on. Maybe there was something here that had spooked the Ghost before it found him and it was just being jumpy. Still, he didn’t dismiss the possibility they weren’t alone here. It had said it knew their ‘enemies’ were still on the Moon…

What were those ‘enemies’ then?

It wasn’t long until they arrived at the space port, a small place consisting of only three hangars that looked completely abandoned.

“Lets see if we can find some equipment we can use to send a signal.” The Ghost said as they entered one of the hangars. It was dark and the Ghost moved ahead of him, a glow seeming to surround it. Murph’s optics followed the light as it moved about in the dark and it eventually came to a stop. Murph couldn’t tell what it might have found, but he didn’t need to; the hangar lit up with light.

“I was able to get the power back online.” Ghost said as it came back to him. “

As the Ghost searched about the hangar, Murph wandered to a ship stored away off to the side. It was small enough for one person.

“Do you think we might be able to fly this out of here?” He asked, brushing his hand across the old metal.

The Ghost flew over to him. “Possibly. If we need to, I might be able to get this to work. In the meantime, I found something that might help us send a signal out to anyone listening, or possibly to the City itself.”

Murph followed the Ghost to what looked like some kind of setup; communications relay, maybe? Was this what they were looking for?

“We’re going to use this?” He asked.

“Exactly; give me a minute to take a look at it. It looks like a coms panel, but I need to see if I can get it working, or if it can work for that matter.”

Murph stood by silently as the Ghost did its work It moved around the relay; scanning it, from time to time projecting some light from its eye at it. Then it flew closer to the relay and disappeared. Murph was confused as to where the Ghost went, but then he heard it speak.

“Almost done. Just a small adjustment and-”

The relay suddenly lit up and came to life. Ghost reappeared in front of it shortly after.

“How did you-” Murph started.

“It’s simple enough.” Ghost quickly replied, cutting him off. “I can easily access the system. Now that’s running, all we need to do is send the signal.”

“Can you reach this City you mentioned?”

“I’d like to try the surrounding area first to see if there are any Guardians nearby. I’ll attempt to reach the City after, but I can’t make any promises I’ll be able to this far out with this kind of setup.”

He gave a nod. “Hopefully someone out there is listening.”

“Indeed. I’m interfaced with the coms panel, so I’ll be able to send the signal directly to the surrounding areas.” Ghost turned away from him and back to the coms panel, beginning a transmission. “Broadcasting on all available channels. Hello; can anyone hear me? If you’re receiving this, I’m a Ghost with a newly risen Guardian. We’re looking for any Guardians that may be in the area to assist us in getting back to the City. If you’re hearing this, a response would be appreciated.”

Murph waited patiently to see if any response would come through. So far there was no response, and after a further moment of waiting, Ghost gave a sigh.

“Nothing. Let me try one more time.” It begun to repeat its previous message. “Broadcasting on all avaible channels. If you are receving this-”

“Hello? Hello? Unknown Guardian and Ghost, are you receiving?” A voice suddenly came through the coms panel.

Murph stepped forward to the panel and spoke. “Yes! We hear you. My name is Murph; Murph-9”

“I’ve got your message, Murph. Your Ghost tells me you’re newly risen.”

“You mean the fact I’m a Guardian now? The Ghost told me as much when it… revived me. It says it needs to take me to someplace known as the City.”

“Yes, that’s right.” The unknown person confirmed. “We should get you off this moon before you run into trouble. Do you or the Ghost have any idea of your location?”

“We’re currently in an old spaceport near the Sea of Tranquility.” The Ghost spoke up again. “We’ve found a ship in a hangar, but I’m not sure if we can get it working. I’ll take a look at the systems, but- Well, that’s why I’m sending this transmission.”

“Are you two safe out there at least? No Hive present? That’s outside the Sea of Storms.”

‘ _Hive?’_ Murph wondered. Were these the ‘enemies’ the Ghost had mentioned before.

“I have not detected any Hive activity, but we’ll keep our eyes up.”

“Alright, I’ve got your location pinned down through your Ghost, Murph. I’ll be en route to you two soon to help you get that ship up and running so you can get to the City. Secure the area and keep your eyes up.”

“We hear you.” Murph acknowledged. “And… thank you, for offering to help.”

“For a newly risen Guardian, of course I’d gladly help. See you soon, Murph; I’m looking forward to meeting you.”

The transmission ended and the Ghost turned back to Murph. “Thank the Traveler; someone actually heard us.”

“Was that another Guardian?”

“Yes. I was hoping there would be another Guardian to pick up on our message.”

“Should we secure the area like they asked?”

“That would be best. Let’s do a quick sweep around the hangars just to make sure and then come back here to wait for the other Guardian.”

That sounded like a reasonable plan to Murph, although he was still wondering about what this ‘Hive’ was that both Ghost and the Other Guardian had mentioned.

The hangar they had found the coms panel in had already been checked, but they circled the building once for good measure. They moved onto the second and cleared that as well, moving onto the third and final hangar after. They entered the third hangar and started to sweep it to make sure there was nothing around.

At some point while they were searching this final hangar that Murph picked up on a noise. It sounded like a distorted growl. He stopped and turned, looking into the darkness of the hangar.

“Ghost.” He called, suddenly put on edge by the sound.

“I heard it too.” It replied, moving close to Murph. Something sounded off in its voice.

“I don’t see anything, but… I know I heard something.”

He stared out into the dark, but he couldn’t tell if there was anything there. Then, suddenly, the growl came again… and turned into a screech as something jumped out at him from the shadows.

“Hive!” Ghost screamed just before the creature tackled him to the ground.

Murph instantly went on the defensive, trying to pry the creature off him as it tried to claw at his face. He was seeing flashes of it as it hissed at him, but it looked like some long dead thing; a corpse. Mustering up his strength, Murph shoved the creature off him. His quickly got back to his feet and found the creature already coming back for more. He punched the creature away and retreated back towards a workbench.

Against the workbench, Murph caught sight of what looked like some sort of weapon, and he picked it up without a second thought. He just hoped there was ammo in it. As the creature came back again, Murph raised the weapon and fired, landing a shot and taking the creature down. He shot it once more for good measure although it no longer moved.

“Ghost, what-” He had turned to ask the Ghost what that creature was, but the little AI was nowhere in sight. “Ghost? Ghost, where are you?”

“I’m here...” Came a quiet voice to his left.

Murph looked to see the Ghost once more, though it was looking away from him. He was happy to see the Ghost, for a moment having feared the creature had gotten it, but at the same time he was worried because it sounded sort of frightened.

“Are you alright? I didn’t see you-”

“I was still with you; I dematerialized for my own safety. All Ghosts can do that, as it keeps us safer in battle.”

“That’s a wise move.” Murph commented, but returned to the question that was really on his mind. “That creature- what was it?”

“A Thrall, I believe. It’s… It’s one of the creatures of the H-Hive.”

Murph noticed how Ghost’s voice stuttered on that word, and suddenly it clicked into place.

“That’s what you’re so afraid of.”

“What? No, I-I’m not-” But then it went abruptly quiet, catching its stutter. It spun in a circle, its back points spinning once and clicking. Then it came to a stop and finally said, “...I am.”

Murph wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what to say to help the Ghost. “Lets go back to the hangar and wait for the other Guardian.”

The Ghost didn’t say anything; just floated over to him. Murph took this as their cue to leave.

 

* * *

 

“Ghost, what are the Hive exactly?” Murph asked from where he sat cross-legged on the ground, the weapon he picked up before in his lap.

The Ghost had been quiet ever since they left the hangar and returned to the rendezvous point, and Murph had debated whether to ask it or not, but he did want to know what the Hive was. Apparently what he encountered before, a Thrall, was only one of them.

Ghost floated over to him. It had been messing around with the systems of the ship they had found in the hangar. “They’re creatures who claimed the moon long ago; monsters who have done horrible things.”

Monsters…

He remembered the fear in the Ghost’s voice when the Thrall attacked him.

“Ghost, if you don’t want to talk about it- you said they scare you.”

“They do, but… I can’t avoid it. I won’t hide it from you; you have to know. It’s my job to guide you, and part of that is making sure you have the information you need. I can tell you about the Hive.”

“If you’re sure. So, the Hive- They’re the enemies you mentioned before, aren’t they?”

“One of a few of the forces we are constantly fighting in this age, but yes.” Ghost explained. “They took the Moon following the Collapse. We tried to fight back, but we were unable to secure the Moon. In short, it was given up to the Hive to keep them away from Earth. The Lunar Sanctions were put in place afterward, but recently we’ve been able to fight back against the Hive. It started with one Guardian, then more followed. Just as well, there was a team of Guardians who defeated a Hive God named Crota. We’ve been making good progress here over the past few years, even lifted the sanctions.”

“But if what we saw back there was one of the Hive, then they are not completely gone.” Murph countered.

“True. They’re still around, unfortunately. Believe it or not, I… I’m actually fond of space, of the cosmos. However, I was hesitant to search here because of the Hive. In all my years of searching, I have heard far too many stories and reports regarding the Hive. I’ve heard of their experiments in death. I’ve heard what happened to Eris Morn. I’ve seen what they did to another Guardian. I became scared of the Hive...”

Murph believed Ghost’s words. These Hive sounded bad, and he had only witnessed a glimpse back in the hangar.

“I see why you’re afraid of them.” Murph said.

“But I was still able to find you here, so it was worth the risk.”

Murph regarded Ghost, taking in the meaning of what it just said. This place was a stronghold for the Hive, or sounded like it used to be that before their Hive God was slain, and Ghost knew this. It frightened the AI and that fear had kept it from searching the Moon. How Murph ended up on the Moon, why he died here, was beyond him, but in the end the Ghost had come here and found him regardless. Ghost had taken a risk, and Murph could only speculate what the Hive would have done to Ghost if they’d gotten their claws on it.

“You were scared and you came here anyway.” Murph mused. “You’re brave.”

“I only did what I had to do.” It said, as if it were the answer to a ridiculous question.

“You make it sound like we’re partners now.”

It gave a sigh. “We are, Guardian.”

“Then… if that’s the case… Ghost, from here on out, if any Hive should attack us, or anything else for that matter, don’t worry; I’ll protect you. I promise.”

The Ghost made a noise, as if surprised. For a second, Murph wondered if something was wrong, that maybe it had gotten hurt in the attack after all, but it floated closer to him and his optics met its single one.

“Thank you, Guardian… Murph...” It said, a sort of happy tone in its voice.

Murph would smile at Ghost if he could. All he could manage was a tilt of the head.

He returned to his previous line of questions. “So, if that Thrall was only a piece of what the Hive are, then maybe we should be lucky it was only the one. Why just a single Thrall?”

“Strange to see just one, but maybe it was wandering.” The Ghost provided. “They tend to lurk in the dark, like all agents of the Darkness; our enemies that seek to crush the Traveler and its Light.”

“The ‘Traveler’- what is that?” Murph asked, his curiosity shifting from the Hive to this ‘Traveler’.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you much about it. It’s an object that grants Light to Guardians, and in the past brought about a Golden Age to Humanity. But back then a great disaster, the Collapse, happened...” The Ghost drifted to the side for a moment. “I was born during the Collapse, you know; all Ghosts were. We were created by the Traveler in the same moment it died, and we carry a bit of its Light that we then pass to our chosen Guardians. It currently resides dormant in the Last City on Earth. That’s the extent of my knowledge on the Traveler.”

“Fascinating.” Murph commented. “And this Light- what do we Guardians do with it?”

“Light grants you your powers. Whatever subclass you end up with for your Warlock class you will find out in time, but those powers come from your Light. And as long as I can feel the Light, I can revive you, should need be.”

“Are you saying if I were to die, you can bring me back?”

“As many times as needed.” And then it added, “but don’t think that gives you an excuse to run off and do anything stupid like jumping off the Tower.”

Murph somehow thought that response was amusing. “No jumping off towers then.”

“Please don’t.” Ghost floated back toward him. “Anyway, everything will make much more sense once we’re back to the City and away from this place. It still crawls with Hive even after the defeat of Crota.”

“As we’ve seen already.”

“Exactly.”

Suddenly Ghost went still, and then flew out away from him toward the entrance of the hangar, stopping a few feet away. Murph stood, wondering if it had detected more Hive.

“Ghost?” He called. “What is it?”

It turned back to him. “I’m getting a signal- the other Guardian must be here.”

The Ghost flew forward again, and Murph followed, though he still held onto his weapon from before. They both exited the hangar, seeing a ship had handed near one of the other hangars. Murph saw a figure walking toward them; the other Guardian.

Murph held up a hand and waved at the newcomer, to which they responded back in the same manner.

When they were close enough to each other, the other Guardian held out a hand and spoke. “You must be Murph-9.”

“Just “Murph’, please.” He replied, grasping the other’s hand. “You’re the Guardian we spoke to?”

“My name’s Ison; Warlock. And this-” A Ghost appeared at her shoulder. “-is my Ghost, Neo.”

“A pleasure.” The Ghost, Neo, says. Then it addressed his Ghost. “I’m glad you’ve found your Guardian.”

“Thank you.” Ghost replied.

“You mentioned a ship before.” Ison spoke up. “Let’s see if we can get it working so you two can get to the City, huh?”

“That would be best.” Ghost spoke again. “We, um, ran into a stray Thrall before you got here. I fear there my be more lurking around here.”

“Then we better get to work.”

Murph nodded in agreement and they all headed back into the hangar to work on the ship.

Murph’s Ghost went back to work and Ison’s Ghost, Neo, joined in the effort. The power of two Ghosts seemed to be enough, as they got it working soon enough. Thankfully there were no further apperances from the Hive, and Murph could tell his Ghost was relieved by that.

After they got the ship working, Ison and Neo parted ways with them, resuming whatever task they had been on prior. When they were in the ship, Ghost took control of the systems, offering to to the flying back to Earth, and inputted the location of the City.

As they left the Moon behind, Murph reflected on this change in his life. His previous iterations had been reset, then he actually died, and now he’s a Guardian, like Ison.

He saw Earth in the distance through the viewport, and he wondered what his new life would be like now, as a Guardian.


End file.
